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Before: Now What?


Nick

Brian held onto the handle over the window in the car the entire way home. I was driving like a psychopath, I know I was, but all I could picture was Chris looming on the deck out back, watching through the windows, waiting until I'd left before making his move. All I could picture was Ashley being unable to get a text out to me in time, coming home to an eerily silent house.

When we got to the house, I slammed the car into park and launched myself across the yard, my hands shaking as I shoved the key into the door. Brian was still trotting up the walkway after me by the time I'd gotten into the entryway of the house. "ASHLEY!" I yelled at the top of my voice, frantic. "ASHLEY!"

I skid around the corner of the kitchen just as she yelled back, "I'm in the kitchen!" She turned around, and stared at me, hamburger meat all over her held-aloft hands, a pan sizzling on the stove. "I was just about to start making lunch," she said. "That went a lot faster than I thought it would." She turned back to the sink, turning on the water with her clean wrist and washing the meat off her hands.

Brian came up behind me. I jumped a little before I realized it was him. He slid by me and sat on the far side of the breakfast bar, a concerned expression on his face.

Ashley turned back around, freshly cleaned hands holding up a plate of raw burger patties and a spatula. "You wanna grill them, baby?" she asked. I took the plate numbly and she turned to the sizzling pan and shifted around some onions that were carmelizing at the bottom of it.

"Nothing weird happened while we were gone?" I asked.

Ashley laughed, "Weird?" She glanced over at me, "No." She turned back to the onions. "Did Chris take the annullment forms okay?" she asked.

I looked at Brian. Brian made a face. I took a deep breath, "Well, we didn't exactly get to, um, deliver them," I said.

"Why not?" Ashley asked. She turned the stove off and turned to face me. I stood there holding the plate of raw meat and absolutely no words would come out. I mean, how do you tell someone that their nightmares could literally be coming true? "Nick?" Brian cleared his throat and Ashley looked at him. "Brian?"

"They released him this morning," Brian said quietly.

The kitchen was silent. Ashley look from Brian to me and back to Brian again, as though expecting one of us to jump up and declare that this was a joke and the delivery had gone just fine. And if I could've truthfully done so, I would've.

"But the where is he?" Ashley asked. Her hands went instinctively to her arms, like she was hugging herself.

"I don't know," Brian said.

Ashley looked at me, her eyes desperate, searching my own. "He's just... somewhere... free...?" she asked.

"Yes," I whispered.

Ashley stared at me. "How... why didn't we... why... Why didn't Jason call you to tell you?" she asked. Her voice was higher than usual.

"That's...actually a really good question," I said, my brow furrowing. I put the plate of burgers on the counter and pulled my phone out of my pocket. The screen was blank. I clicked the power button and it vibed as it turned on. "My phone's been off all morning," I said. Even as I spoke the words, the screen came up and my missed calls log informed me I'd missed twelve calls from Jason. "He did call," I said, "And I missed it."

Ashley stumbled back into the counter, a mixture of shock and horror on her face.

Zoey's screams suddenly filled the room, slicing through the thickness of the moment from the baby monitor. Ashley started to respond when Brian jumped up, "Allow me. You two are in the middle of...this." He walked out to the hallway and off to Zoey's room.

Ashley looked at me. "Now what?" she asked thickly.

I drew a deep breath, "I dunno," I answered.




Ashley

While I made the burgers - inside on the stove because we were now afraid to step out onto the deck to use the grill - Nick called Jason and got the facts about Chris's release. He'd been released on bail made by his friends from work, was living at his buddy's place. Brian sat next to Nick, holding Zoey, who kept reaching for Nick's arm every time he moved like she was magnetized to him. When the burgers were ready I slid a plate to each of the boys and took Zoey. Brian stuck one of the french fries I'd cooked into his mouth.

"So ... are we bringing the papers over to this guys house?" he asked, looking at the notes Nick was making.

"I dunno, we could, I guess," Nick said.

"No you cannot," I broke in. The two boys looked up. "It was bad enough worrying about you two when he was in a jail cell and you were surrounded by cops. There's no way in Hell you two are going over some random guy's house that Chris is staying at and just serving him divorce papers. Especially not you," I added, pointing at Nick.

Brian shrugged, "I don't mind going alone, he can't be that bad."

"Can't be that ---" I sputtered, and I turned away.

"What? He can't be," Brian said, "Right?" he looked at Nick.

"Yeah actually he can," Nick said.

Brian took a deep breath.

"We'll hire someone. Someone with like biceps bigger than Chris's head," Nick said.

I paced. It didn't matter who delivered those damn papers, I already knew Chris was going to fly off the handle. The thought of me leaving was what drove him crazy last time. That's what had driven my father to the point of going to shoot Patrick, too. There was no way in hell we would be safe if Chris knew where to find us after being served papers for an annullment of the marriage.

"We can't serve him papers," I blurted.

"What?" Nick looked up, "Ashley --"

"I don't want to stay married to him, if that's what you're thinking I'm saying. But we aren't safe here if we give him those papers. He knows he can get into this house... We're like sitting ducks. We serve those papers and he'll come here."

Nick licked his lips.

"So we can't serve him the papers."

"Or," Nick said, "We could serve him the papers and leave."

"Leave where?" I demanded.

Nick held up the confirmation papers on the end of the bar that he'd printed out that morning for the flight to Boston. "We're going to Boston already... So we just... don't come right home afterwards," he said.

"Where do we go?"

"Where do you want to go?"

I stared at him. "What about Zoey?"

"We'll bring her."

"You're not supposed to bring a baby on a plane too soon," I said, "They get sick."

"Air cabin quality standards have improved so much over the last ten years that's just an old wives' tale now," Brian spoke up. "Leighanne and I flew all over with Baylee when he was an infant. She just made sure to feed him or give him a pacifier as we took off because of air pressure normalization. It can burst their ear drums if they aren't sucking on something."

I blinked at Brian. He sounded like What to Expect When You're Expecting, The Audiobook Version or something. "But I -- What about --"

"We can go to Nashville," Nick said.

"But --"

"I'm going to protect you and Zoey," Nick said, "I'll do whatever it takes to keep you two safe. And if leaving is the only way, then so be it. We'll go clear around the world if we have to."

"Okay," I said. And I put my trust in Nick.